| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,724,427,526 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Brownian motion |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
Brownian motionAny of various physical phenomena in which some quantity is constantly undergoing small, random fluctuations. It was named for Robert Brown, who was investigating the fertilization process of flowers in 1827 when he noticed a “rapid oscillatory motion” of microscopic particles within pollen grains suspended in water. He later discovered that similar motions could be seen in smoke or dust particles suspended in air and other fluids. The idea that molecules of a fluid are constantly in motion is a key part of the kinetic theory of gases, developed by James Clerk Maxwell, Ludwig Boltzmann, and Rudolf Clausius (1822–88) to explain heat phenomena. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| A dancer who brought a kinetic zest to every role, she has always had an affinity with Brownian motion. The phenomenon that would eventually become known as Brownian motion defied some of Newton's deterministic laws of matter. The laser channel does not assume sphericity and is not subject to effects of optical and physical properties of particles or medium (such as refractive indices, absorption, surface texture, porosity, electrical conductivity, viscosity variations, Brownian motion or thermal convection). |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|